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Merriam-Webster may not define the term as

such, but a riptide is, in effect, an unforeseen

tidal force that unexpectedly pulls an object

or a person in an unanticipated direction.

It could be said, then, that a figurative riptide

drew Bill and Bonnie Daggett to �Riptide,�

the historic coastal oasis on Chatham’s Shore

Road they would come to call home. While

out jogging one day in 2008, Bill Daggett

noticed a house for sale just a sand dollar’s

throw from the Chatham Bars Inn—thus

providing the couple the opportunity to live

in an accommodating waterfront home in

the town they love.

Riptide is the third historic Chatham house

the Daggetts have called home, having

outgrown their previous two Old Village

abodes as their family expanded. The

5,100-square-foot colonial revival, one of

Chatham’s most well-known properties,

sits high above Chatham Harbor and offers

sweeping water views. This was tough to tell

prior to recent renovations on the property,

though, given the overgrown trees and

bushes lining the property and the home’s

dark, closed-off first floor. “It had potential,”

Bonnie says, “but it took a lot of imagination.

We wanted to maintain the charm of the

house, but it needed to be opened up, it

needed to be brighter, and we needed to take

advantage of the beautiful views all around.”

So the Daggetts enlisted Cape Cod-based

integrated architecture and construction

firm Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects

Builders (PSD) to do just that. The goal for

A historic home on the Chatham waterfront gets a much-needed makeover

by haley cote • photography by brian vanden brink

RIPTIDE | GOLD WINNER

Excellence in Remodeling -

Whole House

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For this project, establishing

an entry sequence was a must.

Working with landscape architect

Clara Batchelor of CBA Landscape

Architects in Cambridge, DaSilva

says a portion of the driveway the

home shared with a neighboring

house was eliminated, thus creating

a defined pathway complete with

a low stonewall and white picket

fence. Batchelor also removed

overgrown bushes that once hid

the house from view. DaSilva says

his team replaced the railing of the

“rickety” old widow’s walk with a

more substantial balustrade, which

echoes the same urn shape found in

the mailbox backboard. This design

is also incorporated into a child’s

gate atop a steep indoor stairway as

well as the new arbor in the yard.

“The house is unusual in that the

back door (the mudroom door)

faces the street,” DaSilva says, “and

there was previously an arbor

that announced the path from the

driveway to the mudroom door.”

PSD replaced this arbor with a new

one that creates an entrance to a

path leading to the gridded glass

front door, which faces the south

side of the house and was previously

the remodel, says Design Principal John DaSilva, AIA, was

to transform the early 20th-century house into a home

conducive to comfortable, contemporary living. For their

work on the project, which includes a reconfigured floor plan

and a few exterior tweaks, PSD won gold in the 2016 BRICC

Awards Excellence in Remodeling category.

Having worked with the Daggetts on renovations to both

of their prior Old Village residences, DaSilva says he and

his team were confident going into the collaboration with

the couple. “Their interest in doing something playful and

whimsical falls right in line with our interests,” he says. “We’re

very serious about not taking ourselves too seriously.”

Whimsical is the perfect way to describe many PSD homes,

and the firm’s sense of whimsy is apparent upon pulling up

to Riptide. The “fanciful” new mailbox stand announces the

home from the street, DaSilva says, and features an abstracted

classical urn design that serves as a backboard. A commanding

“Riptide” quarterboard, designed by the Chatham Sign Shop

and displayed on the street side of the house, also makes the

home’s presence known.

View from the water side of Riptide. Family and friends can enjoy the picturesque scenery overlooking Chatham Harbor from the patio. Below: Just beyond the new whimsical arbor is a seven-foot-tall white marble whale’s tale, sculpted by Brewster artist Tim Dibble.

With their whale’s fluke resemblance, the column capitals of the new Greek pillars (pictured right) framing the staircase are reminiscent of the impressive whale’s tale sculpture found opposite the front door outside.

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difficult for first-time visitors to locate. The team

restored the glass door and removed the solid-wood

storm door that had closed it off. Inspired by the fan

light design seen above the front door, DaSilva created

an abstracted fan light pattern atop the arbor, adding

playful emphasis to its classical design.

Just beyond the arbor is a seven-foot, white marble

whale’s tale sculpture, fashioned by Brewster artist

Tim Dibble. “From the beginning, John felt we should

have a piece of sculpture outside of the main entrance,

and that made sense to us,” Bonnie says. “Seeing the

whale’s tale among the daisies in bloom with the water

in the background is lovely.”

Inside, the home’s pre-existing dark and brown-

stained interior was not only deprived of light and

water views, it also lacked functionality. Daily living

spaces faced the street side of the home, and the only

access from the water side to the street side of the

house was through either a butler’s pantry or a narrow

door hidden in paneling. “There is all this spectacular

water view, but the kitchen, daily dining and family

room spaces weren’t located to take advantage of any

of that view,” DaSilva says, “so the floor plan really

needed to be rearranged in order to get the daily

living spaces on the water side of the house.”

Above: A breakfast area off of the new kitchen.

Below: The soapstone kitchen sink depicts a playful Riptide-inspired scene. The carving is another Tim Dibble creation.

The expanded kitchen (right) leads into a new family room (below), complete with wraparound

windows offering beach and harbor views.

We’re very about not

taking

ourselves

too

-serious-

seriouslyJohn DaSilva, Design Principle

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders

”

“

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Without expanding the home’s

footprint, PSD created a more

open and flowing floor plan that

welcomes light and view. Walls

that had enclosed the central entry

hall were removed, exposing the

stairway behind them. DaSilva

designed a set of three whimsical

Greek columns that now define the

stairway as its own space. DaSilva

explains that the column capitals,

made out of flat cutout boards

and grooves, are a playful seaside

reinterpretation of ancient Greek

architecture.

“Like the arbor, the columns provide

a classical pavilion character, which

is appropriate for a traditional old

house,” DaSilva says, “but they are

abstract, less formal, and more fun

by design.”

Off the stairway, one finds a new

dining room in a space previously

used as a study. The room features

new French doors leading out to

the terrace as well as an original

fireplace, one of five refurbished

fireplaces located throughout the

home. The dining room opens up

to the hall and a new kitchen that

extends into a new family room—

converted from the old dining

room—which overlooks the harbor

from the northeast to the southeast.

To create this connected, open space,

which also includes an informal

dining area that is surrounded by

windows, PSD removed the butler’s

pantry, which had been blocking off

the view.

On both the first and second floors

of the home, PSD also replaced all

of the water-facing windows with

larger windows that stretch across

the back of the house. As part of

the new master suite on the second

floor (the former master bedroom

on the southwest corner is now a

guest suite), the team also created

a new bay window that offers a

panoramic view of the harbor from

the bedroom. “With the changing

nature of the harbor, it’s always a

different picture looking out on the

water,” Bonnie says. “The view is

everything.”

The view provided endless

inspiration for Denise Maurer, a

New York interior designer who has

collaborated with Bonnie Daggett

on several home projects. “We took

our cues from everything we saw

outside those windows and then

just brought it inside,” Maurer

says. This involved color, and lots

of it. Knowing that Bonnie loves

color, too, Maurer says she had

the freedom to play with a seaside

palette throughout the interior to

transform the house into the bright,

happy home the team envisioned.

Take, for example, the celadon-

hued kitchen cabinets—installed

by Classic Kitchens & Interiors of

Hyannis—which Maurer says are

the starting point for the color

scheme of greens and blues found

throughout the house. “The color

just pops and brings the water right

into the house; it just marries the

interior and the exterior,” Maurer

says, “so we chose that color after

some discussion of, ‘Are you ready to

take a risk and do something a little

different?’ I tell my clients that the

most successful projects have been

those in which people have gone for

it and done something totally out of

their safe zone.”

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In an effort to achieve Bonnie’s

desired casual, cottage-like feel

within the home, Maurer modified

a glass-inset Victorian door,

designing a wheat sheaf pattern that

was then sandblasted onto the glass.

Maurer explains that this design

touch gives the appearance of being

preserved from the past, which ties

in with the Daggetts’ appreciation of

historic Chatham homes. Riptide’s

existing wide-plank wood flooring

also merges the old with the new,

Maurer adds.

Bonnie Daggett’s favorite interior

design touch is found in the kitchen,

where she once again enlisted

the help of Tim Dibble to create

a custom design in the apron of

the soapstone sink. The carving

features a lighthouse (the house

is just up the road from Chatham

Light), a windmill (neighbors

have a windmill that’s visible from

Riptide), a “cute” whale (Bonnie

says she particularly likes whales),

and a harbor scene illustrative of

the house’s water view. The word

“Riptide” is also carved in the waves

to complete this whimsical design.

For both Maurer and DaSilva,

working on Riptide was not only fun

but also personally rewarding and

meaningful. “[Riptide] is very much

a New England, Cape Cod icon,”

Maurer says, “and it is just a very

special property.”

“The house has always been an icon,”

adds DaSilva. “Now it’s a polished

icon.”

The name “Riptide” did not

originate with the Daggetts; rather,

the original owners gave the home

its enduring moniker. When she and

her husband moved into Riptide,

Bonnie says the outgoing owners

left them a note indicating that,

while the house is formally known

as Riptide, they had come to call it

“Heaven.” For the Daggetts, Riptide

is now more heavenly than ever.

Haley Cote is the staff writer for Cape

Cod Life Publications.

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